Angola is slowly rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but UNITA renewed fighting after being beaten by the MPLA at the polls. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and strengthened the MPLA's hold on power. DOS SANTOS has pledged to hold legislative elections in 2006.

Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo

12 30 S, 18 30 E

Africa

total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km

slightly less than twice the size of Texas

total: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km

1,600 km

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April)

narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m

petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium

arable land: 2.65%
permanent crops: 0.23%
other: 97.12% (2005)

800 sq km (2003)

locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau

overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

the province of Cabinda is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo

12,127,071 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 43.7% (male 2,678,185/female 2,625,933)
15-64 years: 53.5% (male 3,291,954/female 3,195,688)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 148,944/female 186,367) (2006 est.)

total: 18 years
male: 18 years
female: 18 years (2006 est.)

2.45% (2006 est.)

45.11 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

24.2 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

3.55 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 185.36 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 197.56 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 172.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 38.62 years
male: 37.47 years
female: 39.83 years (2006 est.)

6.35 children born/woman (2006 est.)

3.9% (2003 est.)

240,000 (2003 est.)

21,000 (2003 est.)

degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) are high risks in some locations
respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2005)

noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan

Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22%

indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.)

Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 66.8%
male: 82.1%
female: 53.8% (2001 est.)

conventional long form: Republic of Angola
conventional short form: Angola
local long form: Republica de Angola
local short form: Angola
former: People's Republic of Angola

republic, nominally a multiparty democracy with a strong presidential system

Luanda

18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire

11 November 1975 (from Portugal)

Independence Day, 11 November (1975)

11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, 6 March 1991, and 26 August 1992; note - a new constitution will likely be passed following the next legislative election

based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets

18 years of age; universal

chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government; Fernando de Piedade Dias DOS SANTOS was appointed Prime Minister on 6 December 2002
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by universal ballot for a five-year term under the 1992 constitution; President DOS SANTOS originally elected (in 1979) without opposition under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held September 2006 or 2007)
election results: Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was not held and SAVIMBI's National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) repudiated the results of the first election; the civil war resumed leaving DOS SANTOS in his current position as the president

unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held September 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 54%, UNITA 34%, other 12%; seats by party - MPLA 129, UNITA 70, PRS 6, FNLA 5, PLD 3, other 7

Supreme Court and separate provincial courts (judges are appointed by the president)

Liberal Democratic Party or PLD [Analia de Victoria PEREIRA]; National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [disputed leadership: Lucas NGONDA, Holden ROBERTO]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA [Isaias SAMAKUVA], largest opposition party; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS], ruling party in power since 1975; Social Renewal Party or PRS [disputed leadership: Eduardo KUANGANA, Antonio MUACHICUNGO]
note: about a dozen minor parties participated in the 1992 elections but only won a few seats; they and the other 115 smaller parties have little influence in the National Assembly

Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO, Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC's small-scale, highly factionalized armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province has largely ended

ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

chief of mission: Ambassador Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKITI
chancery: 2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156
FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258
consulate(s) general: Houston, New York

chief of mission: Ambassador Cynthia EFIRD
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda
mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: US Embassy Luanda, Department of State, 2550 Luanda Place, Washington, DC 20521-2550
telephone: [244] (222) 64-1000
FAX: [244] (222) 64-1232

two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle)

Angola's high growth rate is driven by its oil sector, with record oil prices and rising petroleum production. Oil production and its supporting activities contribute about half of GDP and 90% of exports. Increased oil production supported 12% growth in 2004 and 19% growth in 2005. A postwar reconstruction boom and resettlement of displaced persons has led to high rates of growth in construction and agriculture as well. Much of the country's infrastructure is still damaged or undeveloped from the 27-year-long civil war. Remnants of the conflict such as widespread land mines still mar the countryside even though an apparently durable peace was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI in February 2002. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for half of the population, but half of the country's food must still be imported. In 2005, the government started using a $2 billion line of credit from China to rebuild Angola's public infrastructure, and several large-scale projects are scheduled for completion by 2006. The central bank in 2003 implemented an exchange rate stabilization program using foreign exchange reserves to buy kwanzas out of circulation, a policy that was more sustainable in 2005 because of strong oil export earnings, and has significantly reduced inflation. Consumer inflation declined from 325% in 2000 to about 18% in 2005, but the stabilization policy places pressure on international net liquidity. To fully take advantage of its rich national resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to continue reforming government policies and to reduce corruption. The government has made sufficient progress on reforms recommended by the IMF such as promoting greater transparency in government spending but continues to be without a formal monitoring agreement with the institution.

$45.93 billion (2005 est.)

$22.8 billion (2005 est.)

19.1% (2005 est.)

$3,200 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 9.6%
industry: 65.8%
services: 24.6% (2005 est.)

5.58 million (2005 est.)

agriculture: 85%
industry and services: 15% (2003 est.)

extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.)

70% (2003 est.)

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

17.7% (2005 est.)

30.6% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $8.5 billion
expenditures: $10 billion; including capital expenditures of $963 million (2005 est.)

40.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish

petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing, brewing, tobacco products, sugar; textiles; ship repair

13.5% (2004)

2.24 billion kWh (2004)

fossil fuel: 36.4%
hydro: 63.6%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

1.9 billion kWh (2004)

0 kWh (2003)

0 kWh (2003)

1.6 million bbl/day (2005 est.)

46,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

NA bbl/day

NA bbl/day

25 billion bbl (2005 est.)

720 million cu m (2003 est.)

720 million cu m (2003 est.)

0 cu m (2001 est.)

0 cu m (2001 est.)

45.87 billion cu m (2005)

$4.484 billion (2005 est.)

$26.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton

US 37.7%, China 35.6%, Taiwan 6.7%, France 6.4% (2004)

$8.165 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods

South Korea 28.4%, Portugal 13.1%, US 9.3%, South Africa 7.5%, Brazil 5.6%, Japan 4.9%, France 4.4% (2004)

$2.425 billion (2005 est.)

$9.879 billion (2005 est.)

$383.5 million (1999)

kwanza (AOA)

AOA

kwanza per US dollar - 88.6 (2005), 83.541 (2004), 74.606 (2003), 43.53 (2002), 22.058 (2001)

calendar year

96,300 (2003)

940,000 (2004)

general assessment: telephone service limited mostly to government and business use; HF radiotelephone used extensively for military links
domestic: limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter
international: country code - 244; satellite earth stations - 29; fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia (2005)

AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2000)

815,000 (2000)

6 (2000)

196,000 (2000)

.ao

2,502 (2005)

1 (2000)

172,000 (2005)

243 (2005)

total: 31
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 1 (2005)

total: 212
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 30
914 to 1,523 m: 95
under 914 m: 80 (2005)

gas 214 km; liquid natural gas 14 km; liquid petroleum gas 30 km; oil 837 km; refined products 56 km (2004)

total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2004)

total: 51,429 km
paved: 5,349 km
unpaved: 46,080 km (2001)

1,300 km (2005)

total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 4,343 GRT/4,643 DWT
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1
registered in other countries: 5 (The Bahamas 5) (2005)

Cabinda, Luanda, Soyo

Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MdG), Air and Air Defense Forces (FANA) (2006)

17 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - two years plus time for training (2001)

males age 17-49: 2,548,455
females age 17-49: 2,462,601 (2005 est.)

males age 17-49: 1,282,195
females age 17-49: 1,256,390 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49: 126,694
females age 17-49: 123,586 (2005 est.)

$2 billion (2005 est.)

8.8% (2005 est.)

many Cabinda exclave secessionists have sought shelter in neighboring states

refugees (country of origin): 13,510 (Democratic Republic of Congo)
IDPs: 40,000-60,000 (27-year civil war ending in 2002; 4 million IDPs already have returned) (2005)

used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states